


living on a wire

by zayniekins



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Basically they all have superpowers, Energy Draining, Established Relationship, Humans with supernatural abilities, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, elemental powers, energy manipulation, matter manipulation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:01:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24053290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zayniekins/pseuds/zayniekins
Summary: “Sir has been waiting a long time to meet you, Minhyung,” sneered the man above him as he was pinning Minhyung to the ground. He was wearing a mask over his face but Minhyung could see the crazed look in his eyes. “He’s been dying to get a taste of you, to touch you, to use you.”-----Growing up in a world where certain people had superhuman abilities, Lee Minhyung had always been in danger. Coming from the Lee bloodline, there was always a threat that he would be captured and harnessed for his abilities. Unbeknownst to him, his biggest threat comes in the form of an evil being known as the Void. His guardians told him that if harm ever came for him, he had to run to a man named Lee Taeyong and he will be safe.But will Minhyung truly be safe, especially when another threat exists in the company of Lee Taeyong and his ragtag family of other individuals with superhuman abilities? Read the story to find out more.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Mark Lee, Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Mark Lee, Kim Jungwoo/Mark Lee (NCT), Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Mark Lee (NCT)/Everyone, Mark Lee/Lee Taeyong, Mark Lee/Moon Taeil, Mark Lee/Nakamoto Yuta, Mark Lee/Suh Youngho | Johnny, NCT Ensemble/NCT Ensemble
Comments: 29
Kudos: 225





	1. The start

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone. I haven't written in a while. A long while. I lost interest in One Direction years back and now I'm back but my obsession is now with NCT and all its sub-units. I've had this vague plotbunny in my head for a while now so I thought I would write it down and incorporate my current obsessions with it lol I'm not sure of what pairing I'll actually do. I want to make it OT9 but I'm not sure if the story will suit it.

A sobbing sound could be heard from the basement of an old abandoned house. To many in the area, the house had been rumoured to be haunted. Even the most daring of paranormal enthusiasts did not dare to venture into the house as they reported something pushing and keeping them out both physically and mentally. What they didn’t know was that there were no ghosts. Just a powerful being.

Said powerful being was called the Void. He was a human with the ability to drain energy. All he did was _take, take, take_. He needed to feed, to drain the life force from other human beings. He was greedy and with every human he drained, he only got stronger. But mere humans were not satisfactory for him.

The Void did not grow up alone. He grew up in a family of others with powers like his. But they were weaker, they did not have a hunger like his. He was often told tales about a bloodline of humans with endless energy within them. Energy reserves that replenished themselves if they had the right training, and they could feed people like him for a lifetime. When he was old enough, the Void left his so-called family and built an empire through force and brutality. He threatened people to be under his command, demonstrating to them on what horrors he was capable of.

All he needed was for them to do the dirty work of finding these human energy reserves. And they had. His henchmen found plenty of energy reserves, but the Void exhausted them all. They were not strong enough, not full of abundant energy as told in the tales, not pure enough. The bloodline had been tainted, mixed due to the mingling with ordinary humans or humans with other types of powers. He needed more. He needed a pureblood that was trained enough to harness energy from the things around them. A pureblood of that sort would never run out of energy.

The Void was running on his last human energy reserve, a young woman with a quarter of the bloodline that he was after and absolutely no training to utilize her potential. If he did not find another energy reserve, he would start to lose energy and deteriorate. He would eventually die.

“Stop, please,” the woman begged, feeling her energy being tugged out of her through the link between her and the Void. He was crouched down, holding onto her arm as she struggled to get away from him. Every move of hers was weakening by the second. He knew he needed to slow down before she broke, but he was _ravenous_. 

“Sir, we have found another.” The Void momentarily stopped his feeding as the words from one of his henchmen registered in his head. The news did not give him any excitement. There was always a catch, a defect. It seemed impossible to find the perfect one. The one he needed badly.

The henchman continued, “it seems that we missed a member of the family from the original bloodline. We traced it and found the family line to be untainted. They married into other families with energy-harnessing abilities.”

The news was sounding more pleasant to the Void’s ears. The woman he was feeding from lay forgotten at his feet as he stood and straightened up. “Most of the members are off the grid and we have reason to believe that they are either really good at hiding themselves or have been predisposed by other beings of your calibre. But we have managed to find one.”

“Where?” The Void asked urgently. His eyes had a wild, dangerous glint in them, and his smile was predatory. He could already imagine the invigorating taste of energy on his tongue.

“Our sources say that he’s a seven-year-old boy that is being sent to another location to get training on how to utilize his powers,” the henchman dutifully reported. He set down a brown folder filled with papers that contain details of the boy on a table in front of the Void. “Should we dispatch a team to intercept them and collect him, sir?”

“No,” The Void answered. Despite losing the predatory grin, his eyes were still lit with a wild and dangerous intent. He could not mess this up. If everything went according to plan, he would finally have his prize. “I need him to get his training. He needs to learn how to harness his power before he becomes the perfect one. Monitor him closely and report to me of his progress. I’ll decide when he is ripe for the picking.”

The henchman nodded, “Yes, sir.” He then left the room after being dismissed. The Void pulled the folder towards him and flipped it open. The first page had a photograph of the young boy. Dark hair, brown eyes, a youthful look and bright expression on his face _. Perfect_. The Void made sure to remember his name as they would get closely acquainted in the future.

_Lee Minhyung._

~.~

At 20-years-old, Minhyung looked like any ordinary boy would. His dark hair and brown eyes were the same, but his bright expression had slightly dimmed. He went to a normal school, had a routine and did most mundane things just like everybody else but the shadow of a threat that loomed over him was his and his alone.

Very few knew that Minhyung was no ordinary human. He came from the Lee bloodline, a family line of humans with the ability to harness energy. No, not just harness energy. They were made of energy and packaged in this mortal form, as his mother would say.

Since he was five years old, Minhyung had been passed from guardian to guardian. They were scared, of him and the threat he brought with him. Minhyung knew he had people who were after him. People who sought out the power he could wield and the advantage he could give them. He could not let himself fall into their hands. That much had been drilled into his mind by his parents, before they vanished and had left him in the hands of his first guardian.

Now, he stayed with his thirteenth guardians, a middle-aged couple who welcomed him with open arms. Though they did not share his abilities, they had fostered enough people like him for them to be able to somewhat train him based on what they had observed and what little notes were left from their previous fosters.

Minhyung was inherently grateful to them. They did not make him feel like a burden and were overly protective of him. This was why he trained hard every day after his day of classes. He didn’t want to be helpless. He wanted to help instead. As a young boy, Minhyung had limited control over energy manipulation.

The most he could do was move certain objects and absorb energy. With training, Minhyung could do so much more. He knew basic self-defence, could move objects around, could detect energy and had control over energy projection. He wasn’t the best at them, and his guardians surmised that it was probably because Minhyung barely drained extra energy needed for his more demanding tasks.

Minhyung didn’t like manipulating energy to the point where it left living beings dead. He only takes a little, all he needs is a little. Besides, he was made of energy himself. All he needed to learn was to access that unlimited reserve within him. Unfortunately, his two guardians weren’t sure of how he would be able to accomplish that. It didn’t matter, Minhyung thought. He didn’t need it. Everything was still alright without him knowing how to do so.

Or so he thought.

One day after getting home from classes at a nearby community college, Minhyung noticed that the house was unusually quiet. Nothing seemed out of place except for the atmosphere. It put him on high alert. He knew not to call out to anyone. If a threat was truly there, he should not announce his arrival.

That was the first rule his current guardians had told him. The second rule was to grab whatever necessities he could and leave the house. As quickly and quietly as he could, Minhyung opened a drawer of the cabinet nearest to the front door. There were many drawers full of survival kits around the house at various points of escape in case something like this happened. He took out wads of cash, a pocketknife and other necessities kept in there that made up the survival kit prepared by his guardians.

Minhyung stuffed the items into his bag and ran out the door. He needed to leave and go to a safe location. Third rule, go to the safe house, the house of a man named Lee Taeyong. His guardians never told him specifically where it was. They only said that he had to use his powers and track down Lee Taeyong’s energy.

As he was crossing the compound of the house, Minhyung reached into his bag and pulled out a small satchel that had been given to him when he first arrived at the house. He opened it and took out an amulet. It thrummed with energy that Minhyung could recognize was not his own. His guardians had told him that this amulet would be able to help him get to Lee Taeyong. Pausing momentarily in his steps, Minhyung clutched the amulet and channelled his powers.

His irises changed to a deep violet as he focused on manipulating the energy from the amulet. He could see the wisps of energy emanating from it, soft and inviting. All he had to do was grasp one that would lead him to where Lee Taeyong was.

Just as he managed to establish a connection, Minhyung felt goosebumps rise on his skin. As if second nature, he quickly brought a hand up and projected a shield to protect himself. The shield cracked slightly from the impact of something embedded on it. Taking a closer look, Minhyung recognized that it was a dart.

Someone was already here to get him.

His eyes darted around, scanning the trees and the rest of his surroundings for the sign of anyone out of the ordinary. His irises glowed violet again and he detected energy coming from an individual that he did not know. A sudden movement from said individual made Minhyung break into a sprint. He needed to get to a place with a lot of people.

Minhyung ran as fast as he could. He could hear hurried footsteps of someone trying to match his pace. He ran through the nearby park, darting between trees in hopes that he could shake off whoever was chasing him. He could hear the loud beating of his heart in his ears and he desperately tried to breathe in enough air.

His legs started to burn and Minhyung knew that his pace was slowing down. His eyes were becoming unfocused and he was struggling to breathe properly. The amulet felt heavy in his hand. The sudden weight of something big against his back made him crumble to the ground.

The amulet flew out of his hand. Minhyung scuffled with his attacker, trying to throw the man off him so that he could escape. However, the man was bigger and stronger than him. The only way for Minhyung to be able to fight him off was if he absorbed enough energy from his surroundings.

“Sir has been waiting a long time to meet you, _Minhyung_ ,” sneered the man above him as he was pinning Minhyung to the ground. He was wearing a mask over his face but Minhyung could see the crazed look in his eyes. “He’s been dying to get a taste of you, to touch you, to _use_ you.”

Minhyung felt bile rise in his throat at the words. He closed his eyes, focused on his surroundings and hastily absorbed as much energy as he could, focusing it into his hands. With one strong push, he aimed a blast at his attacker, sending the man flying straight into a tree.

Without wasting time, he pushed himself to stand on his feet, grabbed the amulet and started to sprint again. He hoped he managed to get to Lee Taeyong’s before this 'Sir' got to him first.


	2. meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> from one side of the story to another

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I feel like this chapter was a little rushed but I wanted to fit everything in so that I could start working with the Mark x everyone else dynamics. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Yuta woke up with a start. He was breathing heavily, heart beating faster than he could keep track of. A glance at the digital clock on his bedside let him know that it was some time early morning. The sun would be up soon. If it wasn’t for the electronic device, he wouldn’t have known what time of the day it was due to his blackout curtains that kept his room dark. Just how he liked it.

What he did not like was being sweat-drenched. Yuta couldn’t remember the dream he had that could’ve caused him to wake up in the state he was in. He only remembered feeling unsettled. Yuta stood up slowly, his eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness of the room. He located his closet and took out a change of clothes.

Grabbing his towel off the hook on the back of the door, Yuta quietly slipped out of his room. It was still early so the other inhabitants of the house were probably not awake yet. Once he was in the bathroom and had locked the door, Yuta peeled off his sweat-soaked sleepwear with disgust. He chucked the clothes into the communal laundry basket and hopped into the shower.

A cold shower in the morning certainly invigorated him and made him feel fresh. The only drawback was that he knew he would not be able to go back to sleep. Yuta changed into a tank top and a pair of sweatpants. After he had dropped off his towel at his room, he made his way to the garage. If he couldn’t sleep, he might as well do something productive.

Yuta wouldn’t call himself a mechanic or a technician, but he had a knack for repairing things. If anyone asked why, he would blame it on his abilities. He could absorb matter and that was probably why he was so good at fixing things; he could understand the objects he was tinkering with on a level most people couldn’t.

His current project was to repair Johnny’s motorcycle. The elder had accidentally crashed the vehicle into a tree because he got distracted by a risky text Haechan had sent in their group chat. The damage wasn’t that serious, just a few dents that Yuta knew he could fix. Rather than letting Johnny get scammed out of a few bucks, Yuta took it upon himself to repair the motorcycle and make sure it was working properly.

When in the zone, Yuta could not tell how much time had passed. His only indication that he had stayed in the garage longer than he should have came in the form of Taeyong. The latter would often come searching for him if he was late to breakfast and today was no different. Even if Yuta had not noticed Taeyong slipping into the room, he would know due to the change in the atmosphere.

Taeyong’s presence made the atmosphere feel _electrified_. To strangers, they would feel the hairs on the back of their necks rise and be on high alert. To people who knew Taeyong, they would simply feel a slight buzzing sensation running down their spine. It was a jarring feeling at first but once it happened frequently, they got used to it.

“Hey,” Taeyong spoke up quietly, trying not to disrupt Yuta’s concentration. The garage was one of Yuta’s safe spaces other than his room. Taeyong and the others respected that and often avoided disturbing him when he was deep in work. However, Yuta was already done for the day, so he didn’t mind. “Breakfast?”

“Sure, Yongie,” Yuta stood up from the motorcycle and wiped his hands on a nearby rag. He walked out the door that connected the garage to the main house, making sure to loop an arm around Taeyong’s waist to drag him along in his path. His action got a chuckle out of the older man. “What are we having?”

“Jungwoo’s making breakfast,” Taeyong said with a grin. Yuta grimaced, which earned him a shove on the shoulder. “Relax, Doyoung’s helping him. It shouldn’t be too bad.”

“I sure hope so. Though I would prefer to have my dessert for breakfast,” Yuta said with a cheeky grin and a quick grab of Taeyong’s ass. Taeyong blushed, the rosy colour a stark contrast against his fair skin. Despite his suave appearance to strangers, anyone who knew him would know that he’s shy and easily flustered.

“You are insufferable,” Taeyong groaned, not really meaning what he said. Yuta grabbed Taeyong’s hand and laced their fingers together.

“It doesn’t help that you look like strawberry ice cream,” Yuta replied, using his free hand to ruffle Taeyong’s hair.

In this house, everyone had this habit of changing their hair colour. While everyone else did it every 3 months or so, Taeyong seemed to have an addiction to changing it frequently. It was a wonder how his hair remained soft and silky despite all the bleaching and recolouring. This time, Taeyong’s hair was a deep pink colour. Initially, it was almost red but as the colour faded out, it was turning into pink.

Taeyong pulled on a strand of his own hair with a pout, “Might have to change the colour again. My roots are beginning to show.”

Yuta tutted and frowned. “Keep it like that,” he protested. “It’s nice that way and I’m sure the others will agree.” Taeyong hummed, showing that he conceded with the advice given. Yuta felt his mischievous behaviour return and couldn’t help but add, “Besides, if you dye it again, your hair might fall out, grandpa.”

Taeyong retaliated by sending a jolt of electricity up Yuta’s arm through their linked fingers. The current was not enough to make the other man feel like he was being electrocuted, just a slight sting. Yet Yuta still let out an exaggerated groan. “I’m not the one with white hair,” he retorted.

“It’s platinum blond,” Yuta argued. Normally, Yuta would alternate between various shades of brown. However, he decided to try something new this time. Johnny fashioned his hair into an undercut, with the longer strands at the top in platinum blond and everywhere else was in black. “Besides, you like it and the undercut.”

“You do look sexy,” Taeyong agreed, ending their short discussion.

The two walked to the dining room in a comfortable silence with Yuta swinging their joined hands between them. Upon approaching the dining room, they could hear various sounds mixing together, mainly the sound of cutlery against plates and Haechan’s boisterous laughter.

“Look what the cat dragged in,” Doyoung said, being the first to spot them entering the room. He was stacking some pancakes onto Haechan’s plate. The table was laid with an assortment of breakfast foods, namely pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausages and toast. Everyone else was already seated at the table, excluding Jungwoo who was in an apron that said ‘Kiss the chef’ and bringing out a pitcher of orange juice to the table.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Yuta said as he sat down in one of the empty seats. His hand was still linked with Taeyong’s, so he used that to pull the elder down onto the empty seat next to him.

“It’s not like we were starving or anything,” Johnny responded sarcastically. Despite the deadpanned look on his face, his eyes were full of mirth.

“No one told you to wait for them before eating,” Haechan interjected. He was pouring an unhealthy amount of honey onto his pancakes.

“Hyuckie gets it,” Yuta laughed. He smiled gratefully at Taeyong when elder spooned some scrambled eggs and a few sausages onto his plate.

“Jeez, forgive a man for being polite,” Johnny said.

Jungwoo sat down next to Yuta. He hadn’t taken off his apron yet and Yuta thought it made him look very cute. He quickly planted a kiss on the younger’s cheek, receiving a sweet smile in return.

“Eat, everyone,” Jungwoo commanded, taking his attention off Yuta and back on the food. “I worked really hard on them.” That was basically the code for ‘please don’t use harsh words to give criticism about my food to me’.

“Thank you for cooking,” Taeil said with a soft smile and calm demeanour. He was the eldest in the house and he showed that through maturity aka not being involved with most of their petty quarrels. He preferred to watch and was often called to settle a spat between any of them.

Jaehyun spooned some eggs into his mouth and let out a satisfied groan. “Thank god, they’re soft and fluffy and not hard,” he praised. “You did great, Jungwoo.”

The others started digging in as well and many were vocal about how appreciative they were of Jungwoo’s efforts. The atmosphere in the kitchen was light as they all basked in each other’s presence. Despite there being eight of them, they were all close to one another.

Taeyong and Taeil had been the first to find each other, mainly because they were both on the run due to their superhuman abilities. Taeyong had been deemed dangerous and Taeil was almost sent to an asylum. Once they trusted each other enough, they stuck together and remained inseparable.

Along the way, they met Jaehyun, Doyoung and Johnny. Jaehyun wasn’t a runaway like them. He was from a rich family and blended in with others more easily due to his family’s financial power. His resources allowed him to take Taeyong and Taeil off the radar just like he did with Doyoung and Johnny.

The five of them had moved into the very house they were currently in. Despite it being just five of them, Doyoung had persuaded them to get a bigger house in case they came across more strays. His instincts were proven to be correct. Their home became a stop for any humans with superhuman abilities. Most only stayed for a few days before moving on to their next destination.

Yuta had come in next and he fit into their group so well that he decided to stay. After him was Donghyuck who didn’t have anywhere else to go and lastly was Jungwoo who showed up at their doorstep after hearing about the safe house through rumours and previous visitors.

Having eight people in one house was difficult but having eight people with painfully obvious attraction to one another in the same house was almost unbearable. To shorten a long story, hook-ups happened, feelings were spoken out in the open, angst was aplenty and when they finally communicated properly, they found a way to make it all work.

So now there they were, eight men in a polyamorous relationship and having a peaceful breakfast together. However, their breakfast together was interrupted when there was a timid knock on the door. Everyone fell silent, looking to one another and wondering if they had really heard it.

After a while, there was another knock on the door, sounding sure and insistent compared to the first knock. Taeyong stood up, intending to answer it.

“Wait,” Taeil stopped him. The eldest had his eyes closed and a frown was on his face. If a threat was at the door, Taeil would be the first to know for he had cast an enchantment over the house to protect it and render it unnoticeable to most people.

“What’s wrong?” Doyoung asked, sounding slightly worried. The orange juice in his glass started to churn slightly, reflective of his mood. It was a rare occasion for them to get visitors anymore after Jungwoo came which was why he was so antsy.

Taeil opened his eyes and shrugged. “He’s just… very bright,” he said, vaguely. The others all shared a look, wondering what Taeil meant.

“Is he a threat?” Taeyong asked.

Taeil frowned, “I don’t think so.” His answer sounded more like a question than a statement. Nonetheless, Taeyong started walking to the front door. The others stood up and trailed after him, curious to see who was at the door.

Taeyong took a deep breath, turned the doorknob and opened the door.

~.~

Minhyung didn’t have the best night. After his run-in with the random creep who tried to kidnap him, he had been on high alert and extremely paranoid. He couldn’t sleep, focused on following Lee Taeyong’s energy trail. He did feel tired at certain points of his journey, but he would always snap awake again because of his paranoia.

The only thing he was thankful for was that the energy trail was strong enough that he didn’t have to put full effort into keeping the connection strong. Still, it took a toll on him. This was why he decided to throw caution to the wind and hop in a cab to his destination. He was too tired to completely focus on his surroundings so having only one threat around him was a better option than being on public transport with strangers.

Since Minhyung couldn’t exactly tell the cab driver where he wanted to go, the driver was initially reluctant to take him. Not that Minhyung could blame him. It was dead in the night and here was a passenger who didn’t want to disclose his destination. The whole thing seemed creepy and shady. However, all worry was gone once Minhyung took out more cash than what he was probably supposed to pay for the fare.

It was the wee hours of the morning when Minhyung told the cab driver to drop him off at a sidewalk in some neighbourhood. The area was full of large stand-alone houses that would probably be perfect to be safe houses. Everything seemed pristine and guarded. He knew he was getting closer and would be able to find the location better on foot. Besides, he didn’t want to exhaust all his money on one ride, in case this wasn’t the place.

Trying to focus on Lee Taeyong’s energy trail in the neighbourhood proved to be quite difficult. His energy trails were everywhere, and they were sometimes intertwined with other energy trails. One wispy energy trail got his attention. It wasn’t Lee Taeyong’s, but it was hypnotizing and beckoning Minhyung to touch it.

As soon as Minhyung felt his own energy brush against the unknown energy trail, he felt as if his breath had been sucked out of him. The wisp of energy wound around his arm and travelled upward to his neck. It tightened round his neck and Minhyung thought he was going to be strangled.

He started to choke, and his vision was turning blurry. However, it suddenly vanished and Minhyung gasped, taking in as much oxygen as soon as he was able to. He did not know what that was, but it spurred him on to quickly find the safe house rather than stand in the streets alone and vulnerable.

By morning, Lee Taeyong’s trail took him to a lovely, regular-looking house. It was big with a spacious garden and a garage. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and there was no sign on the door that indicated that this was the safe house he was looking for.

However, the energy trail felt strongest here so Minhyung approached the steps and tentatively knocked on the door. He held a breath as he waited for a while. The door didn’t open, and he could not hear anything. He knew there were people inside from a quick energy scan, but he couldn’t tell how many were inside because something was warping his mind.

Minhyung knocked again, louder this time. He heard footsteps, a pair or two or maybe even more, he couldn’t properly tell. The door opened and Minhyung was greeted with the sight of a man with deep pink hair and piercing eyes. He felt a jolt of electricity travel up his spine and he immediately was on high alert.

“A-Are you Lee Taeyong?” he asked, eyes wide. The energy trail pointed to the man but Minhyung just had to be sure. The man tilted his head to the side and crossed his arms, a pensive look on his face.

“Who’s asking?”

Minhyung gulped. “I was told to come here,” he took out the amulet from his pocket and showed it to the man. “My guardians told me to follow the energy trail here if I was ever in trouble.”

The man’s features softened as soon as he saw the amulet, and he uncrossed his arms. “Come on in then,” he beckoned with a nod of his head. Minhyung pocketed the amulet and moved forward, only to halt when he realised there were more pairs of eyes on him than he realised.

The man—Lee Taeyong—noticed and tutted. “Stop scaring him and give him some space,” he scolded them. The other people in the house started to disperse, not quite blocking Minhyung’s entry into the house but not completely out of sight either.

Minhyung stepped inside and he felt someone’s unrelenting stare on him. Looking towards the source, he saw a man with an undercut still staring at him. The man had a shocked look on his face that quickly morphed into a tense look.

“Fuck,” the man swore suddenly, shocking Minhyung. One of the other men, the tallest one in the room, put a hand on his shoulder and looked at him, his gaze questioning. The man with the undercut shook his head and brushed the hand off.

“I can’t be here,” was all he said before he darted up the stairs, leaving everyone including Minhyung utterly bewildered. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohho, what's going to happen next? Share with me your thoughts!


	3. first impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introductions are in order.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate how this chapter turned out because no matter how I twisted it, I couldn't find an angle that made me satisfied with what I wrote. I hope you guys enjoy it and I'll try to write better chapters.

The situation definitely was tense. After the man with the undercut left, Minhyung couldn’t help but feel horrible. It didn’t help that he left after swearing and saying that he couldn’t be there, as if Minhyung’s presence was disgusting. He couldn’t help but curl in on himself, trying to make him seem smaller than he already was.

A hand on his shoulder startled him and Minhyung almost jumped out of his skin. Lee Taeyong looked at him with kind eyes. “Let’s sit in the living room and we can talk,” he said, gently directing Minhyung through the doorjamb of the nearest room.

The room was decorated in a minimalistic way, but the colour palette chosen for the room gave off an inviting vibe. There was a huge flatscreen television mounted on the wall with a few different types of gaming stations on the table underneath it. In the corner was a bookcase full of books arranged according to their colour. In the center of the room was a coffee table framed by two three-seat sofas with one on each side.

The window of the room had its own ledge where one could sit with comfy cushions. A few fake plants decorated the room. Minhyung was gently pushed to sit on the sofa, and the inhabitants of the house shuffled around the room for their own seats.

Lee Taeyong sat on the sofa opposite of Minhyung, flanked by a devilishly handsome man with an intense stare and a calmer looking man. A man with black hair perched himself on the armrest of the sofa. He had a stoic expression that made Minhyung feel uneasy. One of the others, a man with tanned skin and wispy brown hair who looked younger than the rest, went to sit on the window ledge. The one wearing an apron decided to sit on the floor, near the coffee table. The tallest one of them all opted to lean against the wall, not far from where Minhyung and the others sat.

Minhyung felt like he was about to be interrogated. Everyone’s gaze was directed at him and they weren’t shy about looking straight at him. Minhyung nervously played with the strap of his bag as he waited for someone to say something.

“What’s your name?” Lee Taeyong asked, breaking the silence of the room.

“Lee Minhyung,” Minhyung answered. Speaking his name out loud made Minhyung wonder if he and Lee Taeyong were related. He wasn’t the only one.

“Another Lee,” spoke the tanned skin male from his seat at the window. He sounded awed. “I wonder if we’re all related.”

“We?” Minhyung couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes, we. My name’s Lee Donghyuck, but everyone calls me Haechan,” the man introduced himself. The way he spoke was very melodious to Minhyung’s ears. It reminded him of summer for some reason. “Everyone knows that those of the original Lee bloodline can harness energy, but the most I can do is get energy from the Sun. Yongie controls electrical energy.”

“What can you do?” Lee Taeyong questioned him, a curious look in his eyes.

Minhyung gulped. “I’m from the original bloodline,” he admitted, feeling like he was telling them a dirty secret.

“No way,” Haechan gasped, his eyes widening. “That’s so cool!”

Minhyung was taken aback. No one had ever reacted to him in that way. There was always a dark cloud that followed his admission about his bloodline. How Haechan responded was different and he didn’t know how to feel.

“Calm down, Haechan,” Lee Taeyong—Taeyong—admonished Haechan lightly. “Let’s get introductions over with before we go any further.”

The handsome man next to Taeyong gave Minhyung a small smile, making the dimples on his face appear. “My name is Jaehyun and I am an elemental user. I have control over fire.”

The man perched on the armrest gave him a surprised look. “Wait, I thought we were just sharing our names, not powers too?”

“It’s really up to you,” Taeyong replied, reassuring him with a small smile.

“C’mon, bunny, it shouldn’t matter,” Haechan interjected with a sly grin. “Newbie here looks like he can’t hurt a fly. He’s bound to know sooner or later, anyway.”

The man seemed flustered at the nickname Haechan gave him. “I’m Doyoung,” he said, slightly glaring in Haechan’s direction. “I’m an elemental user too, but I have power over water.”

The calm man next to Taeyong gave Minhyung a smile that made him feel more at ease. “I am Taeil. As vague as it sounds, I have powers like the Moon. I can put up enchantments and illusions.”

“He has an enchantment over this house,” Haechan announced, sounding proud. “It protects the house. He can also detect if someone is at the door, like he did with you. He’s like our very own security system.”

Haechan’s words managed to cause a few of them to snicker and it brought down the tension in the room. The one sitting on the floor put his hand up when he introduced himself, “I’m Jungwoo, and I am an elemental that uses Air.”

“I’m Johnny,” the tall man spoke up, not moving from his position against the wall. He had his arms crossed over his chest and that made his muscles bulge. It didn’t help that he was wearing a fitted tee shirt. “I am the grounded one of the group because I control the earth element.”

“The one who ran upstairs is Yuta and we’re not sure why he reacted that way. He doesn’t do that ever,” Haechan explained, squishing a cushion in his lap. Minhyung felt like he wanted the sofa to swallow him whole. There was definitely something wrong with him for Yuta to suddenly act out of the norm.

“So, Minhyung, do tell us what happened for you to end up here,” Jaehyun said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Minhyung recounted the experience he had gone through. As he mentioned that someone was after him, Jaehyun and Taeyong shared a look.

“You’ll be safe here because of Taeil’s enchantment,” Taeyong assured him. “However, we may need to get you off your stalker’s radar.”

“Usually, we advise people to lay low until we’re sure whoever is following them has lost interest,” Jaehyun started explaining. “However, we’re not sure who is after you so it may be harder than just laying low. Another tactic is faking your death and giving you a new identity.”

“F-faking my death?” Minhyung repeated, shocked. He was sure he had a deer-in-headlights expression on his face. Jaehyun nodded.

“Don’t worry, we’ve done it before,” Jaehyun told him, sounding very calm as if he was talking about the weather and not about death.

“I’m not really an expert at these things so if you think that’s what should be done, then I’ll take your advice on it,” Minhyung responded, nervously. Jaehyun gave him a wide grin.

“Great, I’ll just need an ID,” the other man said, holding a hand out. Tentatively, Minhyung fished out his ID from his pocket and handed it to Jaehyun without a word.

“You look worn out,” Doyoung said, a worried expression on his face. “I think our Q&A session can be continued another time. You should rest.” Taeyong nodded in agreement.

Haechan jumped up from his seat. “I’ll show him his room,” he volunteered. Doyoung nodded and gestured for Minhyung to follow after Haechan.

Jungwoo got up from the floor, “I’m gonna go check up on Yuta. It was nice to meet you, Minhyung.” Minhyung could only manage a smile before Jungwoo had disappeared from the room and gone up the stairs. 

~.~

Yuta laid on his bed, eyes focused on the ceiling, but his mind was elsewhere. His thoughts felt as dark as his room. The boy that arrived at their doorstep made Yuta feel things that he wasn’t sure he should feel. He felt an animalistic hunger, something that had never been there before. He felt like he was going to lose control.

There was a knock on the door and Yuta heard Jungwoo’s soft voice, asking if he could come in. With nothing better to do than succumb to his thoughts, he muttered a small ‘come in’ and the door opened, light from outside filtering into his room.

Jungwoo slipped into the room and quickly closed the door, plunging Yuta’s bedroom into darkness once more. Yuta felt the bed dip and another warm body was next to his. A hand found his own and fingers entangled with his, holding on tight. Yuta gave a Jungwoo’s hand a squeeze.

After some silence, Jungwoo asked, “What happened down there?”

Yuta sighed. He knew this question was coming. “I’m not sure, Woo,” he replied, sounding helpless. “I felt like I was gonna go out of control.” When Yuta saw who had arrived, the same breathless, heavy feeling that had awoken him had come back. He didn’t even know the person, yet he felt this way. It scared him.

“What kind of out of control?” Jungwoo implored. ”Like crazy, murderous out of control or ‘I’ve got to fuck him’ out of control?”

Yuta couldn’t help but let out a snort at the blunt way Jungwoo phrased his question. “I’m not sure.” He could feel Jungwoo’s eyes boring into the side of his head.

“Come on,” Jungwoo whined. “You can tell me. I know you felt something.” Yuta felt him come closer. “Because I felt something.” Yuta could feel Jungwoo’s lips tracing the shell of his ears. “I felt something, and it wasn’t crazy, murderous.”

Yuta glanced at Jungwoo from the corner of his eye. He knew that his lover must have had a sly expression on his face. “Really now?” He saw what he thought was Jungwoo licking his lips.

“Yeah,” Jungwoo whispered. “A young man shows up, looking delectably innocent and bright-eyed and you think I wouldn’t have a split-second thought about fucking him?” Jungwoo let out a chuckle. “He ticks a lot of the boxes on my kink list.”

Yuta hummed. Jungwoo had always been the open one in their relationship. He wasn’t shy to admit any form of attraction he had for someone. However, he never advanced on his attraction unless he had permission from each of the other members of the relationship.

The relationship between the eight of them would seem weird to outsiders but they were comfortable with it. To put it simply, they were all in love and attracted to one another. After all the previous miscommunication, they decided to be vocal and transparent with whatever they felt, including feelings of attraction. Yuta, Jungwoo and Haechan were the flirty ones, but they flirted as much as was allowed and agreed to by the other members. They would never put anyone in a situation where they doubted their loyalty to the relationship. 

“You should have seen him, Yuta,” Jungwoo spoke out with wonder in his voice. “His name is Minhyung. He was so shy and nervous. He looked like he was gonna shit his pants when Jae suggested faking his death. He’s so innocent.”

“And you want to ruin him,” Yuta drawled out. Jungwoo scoffed.

“You would too,” he retorted. “Instead you hid up here.”

Yuta sighed, “Can’t help it, Woo. I hate feeling out of control.” There was silence for a moment before Yuta felt Jungwoo let go of his hand. The other man shifted on the bed and Yuta suddenly felt Jungwoo straddling him.

“Why don’t I help you regain control, hm?” Jungwoo asked, his hands going under Yuta’s tank top to toy with the band of his sweatpants. Yuta reached over to his bedside table and turned the lamp on. Light illuminated the room and he could see Jungwoo’s sultry expression.

The sexual mood was slightly off-putted by the fact that Jungwoo hadn’t taken off his apron. Yuta chuckled at the sight of it. “This definitely does not kill my boner,” he said, pulling at the straps of the apron.

Jungwoo huffed, “I’m too sexy for you to go soft.” He emphasized his point by grinding down on Yuta. The latter groaned.

“Just take it off, Woo,” Yuta growled, not caring if Jungwoo thought he was talking about the apron or their clothes.

“Easy, lion,” Jungwoo said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “We’re not in a rush.”

~.~

“So, you lost him?” Eerie silence followed the question that was asked by the Void. Technically, it sounded more like a statement. A statement that was indicating the calm before the storm. “You lost the most valuable thing that I have ever wanted. The one thing that we’ve been keeping an eye on for years.”

With every sentence, everyone in the room started to realize how much they had fucked up. The henchman being questioned shook at the knees. “Y-yes, Sir,” he stuttered out. “I apologize, Sir. He was more powerful than I anticipated.”

Despite the rush of satisfaction at the mention of Lee Minhyung’s improved abilities, the Void could not let this failure off the hook. “Will your apology bring me my salvation?” It was a rhetorical question, but idiots always answered the rhetorical.

“No, Sir, but—” The henchman was cut off by the Void slamming his fist onto the table. The amount of force he used was unnecessary and the small light illuminating the basement flickered for a few seconds. The other henchmen in the room shared nervous glances with each other.

“Your mistake will cost me. And what costs me will cost you and everyone else. He’s probably gone into hiding now and who knows when he will reveal himself,” the Void muttered angrily.

“We’ll catch him, Sir.”

“You better or I’ll drain every single person here starting with you,” the Void threatened. He dismissed everyone and turned to the wall behind him.

The wall was decorated with various photographs of Lee Minhyung. They were all taken by his henchmen on his orders. Various snapshots of the boy’s daily life from the moment the Void told them to keep an eye on him until the day before he sent his henchmen to collect the boy. The Void’s favourites were the photos of him where he could see the boy’s youthful face.

The Void let out a sigh, fingers tracing Lee Minhyung’s face. “I can’t wait to meet you, beautiful.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to write something saucy for Jungwoo and Yuta but then I remembered that I barely wrote any form of smut before lmao. Maybe I'll do a spin-off one day? or an outtake once this all ends. Let me know your thoughts!


	4. it heats up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minhyung meets Yuta. We all know how that would go down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hated writing this chapter. Again, I could not find the right angle to tell it from. I wrote 2k words and then thought I should try another angle but it did not work so I continued from the original angle. I hope you enjoy it regardless.

Minhyung woke up a few hours later. He was on a comfortable bed and had slept in cosy clothes that Doyoung had given him to change into. More importantly, he was safe, and he felt safe. His eyes fell on a digital alarm clock, and Minhyung concluded that he had slept past lunch and all the way into the evening.

Rubbing the sleep away from his eyes, Minhyung sat up and yawned. He still felt quite tired but not as exhausted as before. However, he did feel famished and judging by the sudden growl of his stomach, it agreed too. Despite not wanting to leave the comforts of the bed, Minhyung forced himself to his feet because he needed sustenance.

Minhyung made sure to make the bed before he left the room. He didn’t want people to think he was a slob. He wanted to avoid troubling or angering the inhabitants of the house, especially since he’s the newcomer and he appeared unannounced. Not to mention, he already made a bad first impression on Yuta.

Minhyung slowly walked down the hall, eyes scanning the area. He didn’t pay any attention when he first got here so he could not remember if he saw where the kitchen was. A sudden aroma penetrated his nose, and it made his mouth water. He was sure that he was nearing the kitchen with how the smell seemed to get stronger.

And Minhyung was right.

Taeyong was at the stove, mixing something in a pot. Jaehyun was pulling out some plates and Doyoung was preparing drinks. When Minhyung walked in, Doyoung was the first to notice. “Sleep well?” he asked, kindly with a soft smile. Jaehyun briefly looked up from what he was doing and gave Minhyung a dimpled grin.

Minhyung couldn’t help but give a timid smile back,” I did. Thank you.”

“Sorry you missed lunch,” Taeyong spoke up, momentarily looking away from the stove. He had an apologetic look in his eyes. “We figured that you would have been so exhausted and didn’t get enough rest so you might not have wanted to wake up for food.”

“No, no, it’s alright,” Minhyung dismissed Taeyong’s worry with a hurried wave of his hand. “You were right. I don’t think I would have woken up for it.” He let out a nervous laugh, hoping he didn’t make things awkward. Clearing his throat, he asked, “Is there something I could help with?”

Minhyung didn’t want them to think that he was freeloading. He wanted to be helpful around the house. Doyoung tutted.

“You’ve had a long day so you shouldn’t be worrying about anything,” he dragged Minhyung away from the kitchen. “Just relax and don’t worry about helping. You can do that when you’ve had enough rest.”

Minhyung wanted to protest but Doyoung seemed set in his ways. He was brought to the living room and made to sit in his previous spot on the sofa. Before he left, Doyoung looked at him sternly in the eyes and told him to stay put. Not wanting to disappoint the other man, Minhyung sank into the chair, feeling like a scolded child.

A movement in the corner of his eye made him realise that he was not alone. Minhyung was soon made aware that he was currently in the living room with Yuta. The other man was sitting on the sofa, in the same position Jaehyun was earlier in the day. From a closer standpoint, Minhyung could see that the other man had sharp facial features and that there was a slit in one of his eyebrows. Yuta was looking at something on his smartphone, but Minhyung couldn’t help but feel as if he was being watched.

Minhyung didn’t want to have bad blood with anyone, especially when he’s not sure what he had done. Should he try to befriend Yuta and have them get on the right foot? Before Minhyung could decide to break the silence, Yuta beat him to it.

“Can I help you?” he asked, looking up at Minhyung with a piercing gaze. He raised an eyebrow—the one with the eyebrow slit.

Caught off guard, Minhyung was almost tongue-tied as he wasn’t prepared for that question. His mouth opened and closed for a few moments before he could find the right words to say. “I- um, I just wanted to apologize if I’ve somehow offended you by being here.”

Yuta scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Who says I’m offended.”

Minhyung sputtered, “I’m sorry if I offended you by implying that you were offended. I just thought that you weren’t pleased with me being here because you stormed off.”

“Whatever,” Yuta retorted, shaking his head. Minhyung’s heart sunk to his stomach. Yuta gave Minhyung a onceover before his gaze focused on the shirt Minhyung was wearing with searing intensity that Minhyung felt like he was going to burn a hole in the shirt. “Who gave you that shirt?”

Minhyung looked down at the shirt in question. It was a simple long-sleeved grey shirt with the cartoon of a watermelon in front and the words, ‘one in a melon’. He thought it was quite cute as he enjoyed the pun and liked watermelons. “Doyoung-hyung did,” Minhyung replied, pulling slightly at the shirt.

“Well, it’s mine.”

Minhyung let out a surprised noise, his wide eyes glancing up at Yuta. Fumbling for words, he settled for, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

Yuta didn’t reply. The other man was still in his seat, staring intently at Minhyung. He had a tense look on his face and Minhyung was scared he had done another thing to piss the other guy off.

“I’m sorry, I’ll give it back to you after I wash it,” Minhyung tried again, desperate to fix things. Before Yuta could reply, Haechan bounded into the room. His sudden presence seemed to ease and lighten up the room, albeit not much.

“Minhyung-hyung!” Haechan cheered, quickly making his way across the room to sit next to Minhyung and invade his personal space. “I’m glad you’re awake.”

Minhyung gave the other man a tight smile, still aware of Yuta’s disapproving gaze on him. “Hello, Haechan,” he greeted, politely. “You can just call me Minhyung. It’s fine to drop the honorifics.”

Haechan brightened up at the words. “Okay,” he replied happily, stretching his arm to settle one on the back of the sofa behind Minhyung. Minhyung noted that Haechan smelled like the summer breeze, warm and inviting. A contrast to the cold and hostile stare Yuta was giving him.

Haechan seemed to notice Yuta intensely staring at Minhyung. “Eh, Yuta-hyung, why are you staring at Minhyung like you want to eat him? I know Woo-hyung jokes about you being a lion, but please don’t eat Minhyungie. I like him very much.”

Minhyung wasn’t sure what made him more flustered, the nickname Haechan gave him or the fact that Haechan said he liked him.

Yuta scowled,” I’m not going to eat him.”

“Who’s eating who?” Johnny asked, looking up from his phone as he entered the room. He ended up sitting next to Yuta, taking up quite a bit of space because of his long legs.

“Yuta-hyung looked like he wanted to eat Minhyung,” Haechan reported.

When Haechan’s words registered in his mind, Johnny’s phone was forgotten and he gave Yuta a sly grin, “Is that so?”

Yuta shoved his shoulder with a grimace, “Not that kind of eat, you perv.” Johnny didn’t reply with anything. He merely gave Yuta an unimpressed look and raised an eyebrow. “I don’t eat basket cases.”

Minhyung felt like the air was punched out of him. He felt Haechan tense up slightly.

Haechan looked from Minhyung to Yuta, a confused look on his face. “Yuta-hyung, that was kind of mean and uncalled for.”

“His sudden presence here is uncalled for,” Yuta retorted, arms crossed and a pissed off look on his face. “If he wasn’t here, he wouldn’t be bothering people with his problems or borrowing things without permission.”

Maybe tunnel vision was the accurate phrase to describe how Minhyung pretty much tuned out the outside world, focusing solely on Yuta’s words. He barely felt Haechan shift beside him nor did he feel it when Haechan pulled him off the sofa. “Come on,” the other man had said, holding Minhyung’s hand and leading him out of the living room. He let himself be dragged away. Away from Yuta and his disapproving glare and harsh words.

~.~

Yuta knew he fucked up. When Minhyung had walked into the room, Yuta had been taken aback when he noticed that the other man was wearing one of his shirts. It brought up feelings in him that he thought had been quelled by Jungwoo. Yuta felt like he was losing control again and he decided to regain control in the only way he knew how, by being snarky. Bad habit, he knew that.

However, his boyfriends knew his tells and would call him out on it or counter his sarcasm. Minhyung didn’t and Yuta felt horrible when he saw how much the other man deflated at his words. As soon as Haechan and Minhyung left, Johnny turned his full attention on Yuta and the elder narrowed his eyes.

“What the hell, Yuta. I don’t know why you blew up on him like that, but I know it wasn’t because of the shirt because you explicitly told me how much you hated it. ‘Fess up,” Johnny patiently stared at Yuta as he waited for a logical explanation as to why Yuta was being a dick.

All Yuta did was scoff and glower at him. Johnny crossed his arms over his chest and let out a harsh sigh. “If that’s how you want to play it, be ready to face the consequences later tonight. I want you on your knees.”

Before Yuta could reply, Doyoung peeked his head into the living room. “Dinner’s ready,” he announced. His eyes seemed to scan the room before his expression morphed into a confused one.

“Where’s Minhyung?” Doyoung asked.

“Yuta said some harsh words to Minhyung,” Johnny said, giving Yuta a pointed look. “Haechan took him somewhere. I don’t think they’ll be joining us for dinner.”

Doyoung had a look of disapproval on his face and his eyebrows were furrowed. “Yongie’s not going to be happy.”

~.~

Haechan had taken Minhyung to his room. Despite the other man being completely unresponsive, Haechan had managed to drag him up the stairs and into his bed. He wrapped his blankets around Minhyung and arranged his pillows to make it more comfortable. He knew Minhyung was in shock. Haechan was too, especially seeing how mean Yuta had been.

“Minhyung?” Haechan tried calling out to see if he could get the other man to respond to him. Minhyung unwaveringly stared at a random spot on the bed. Taking a risk, Haechan gently shook the elder’s shoulder. He called out his name again. “Minhyungie?”

Minhyung blinked a couple of times before he looked at Haechan. His face looked incredibly sad and Haechan found out that he hated that look. He’d seen Minhyung look timid and shy when he first came, curious when they were talking to him earlier, wide-eyed and innocent when Jae talked about fake murder and exhausted before he was given a room to rest. His favourite was when he walked into the living room a few moments ago and Minhyung looked so soft and cuddly. Too bad Yuta ruined it.

Speaking of Yuta, Haechan was puzzled by the elder’s recent behaviour. He’s never seen Yuta lose his cool outside of bedroom activities. To see him blow up on Minhyung made his heart ache because he didn’t want to have to choose sides, especially seeing how irrational Yuta’s side seemed.

“Are you okay?” Haechan asked, staring imploringly into Minhyung’s eyes to coax the truth out of him. Minhyung shook his head.

“I shouldn’t have taken his words to heart. I’m sorry,” the elder hurriedly apologized. “I don’t want to ruin things in this house. I’m sure you would want to be with the others. We can go back down and join them.”

Haechan watched as Minhyung struggled to free himself of the blankets. He quickly stopped the elder. “Minhyungie, it’s okay,” Haechan replied, patting Minhyung’s shoulder comfortingly. “How about we both stay here and have dinner together? Just the two of us.”

Minhyung frowned, “But, the others—”

“They won’t mind,” Haechan reassured him. “I know they won’t. I’m sure you don’t want to see Yuta any time soon and I don’t think making you sit through a dinner where he might say more harsh things to you is a good idea.”

Minhyung sighed. “You don’t have to do this. You can just go downstairs and join them. I’ll have dinner in my room.”

Now it was Haechan’s turn to frown. “I’m not leaving you alone and that’s final.”

Minhyung stared at Haechan for a few seconds before he reluctantly nodded. “Fine,” he conceded, feeling like the younger wouldn’t let him win no matter how much he tried. Haechan grinned.

“Great, I’ll just go and get our dinner,” he said, happily. As if on cue, there was a knock on the bedroom door. Haechan opened it and saw Taeil. The eldest was holding two plates of food in his hands. He handed them to Haechan.

“Doie said that you two probably won’t be joining us and Yongie still wanted both of you to eat while the food is still warm,” Taeil explained. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get downstairs to see Yongie rip Yuta a new one.”

The door was closed and Haechan carefully made his way to Minhyung with the food, offering him to take one of the plates. Minhyung accepted it with dejected look on his face. Haechan sat across from the elder and made himself comfortable. He was about to eat but he stopped when he noticed that Minhyung didn’t seem to make a move to eat at all.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, concerned.

Minhyung bit his lip before answering, something Haechan thought was both innocent and sexy. “I don’t want Yuta to get scolded, especially when it was my fault. I should’ve asked Doyoung about whose clothes he had been giving me. And I should’ve asked Taeyong if it was alright for me to just barge in like this. He could have directed me to another shelter.”

Haechan let out a sound of disbelief. “Minhyungie, what are you saying?” he asked. “Doie said it was okay for you to borrow the clothes and you were probably sent here because it seems to be the safest place for a Lee and hidden from your stalker.”

“I don’t want Yuta to hate me even more,” Minhyung replied worriedly. “He doesn’t like me, and I don’t know why.”

“That’s Yuta’s problem,” Haechan countered, stabbing at his food using his fork. “I’m sure Yongie will make him come around. He shouldn’t have a problem with you coming here. He’s never had a problem with anyone coming to the shelter before.”

Minhyung didn’t reply but he still had a forlorn look on his face. Haechan pouted.

“No sad face. Now let’s eat,” Haechan coaxed, nudging Minhyung’s plate with his own. Minhyung bit his lip and started to eat, satisfying Haechan. The younger followed suit. They ate in silence but after a few moments, Haechan decided to speak.

“After we eat, will you show me your powers?” Haechan asked, cautiously. For some strays, this was a sore topic and sometimes they were so protective of their abilities that they evaded any questions of what they could do.

Minhyung stared at Haechan, an unreadable expression on his face. “I’m not sure if I should,” he said nervously.

Usually, Haechan wouldn’t press on. However, he had never met someone from the original Lee bloodline, and he was curious. Yongie would probably berate him for prying but Haechan couldn’t help it. “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours. Maybe we could help each other.”

A few beats passed before Minhyung gave Haechan a small smile. “I suppose I could show you.”

~.~

It was the dead of night when a sleek black car pulled up in front of the morgue. A henchman quickly walked out from the morgue building and opened the door of the car. The Void stepped out, immediately making everyone on edge. His dangerous aura was terrifying on a normal occasion, but it was tenfold now that he had received distressing news which was the reason why he was at the morgue in the first place.

A henchman of his had reported that a body had been sent to the morgue, a victim of a fire. The victim suffered horrible burns and the hospital had been unable to identify his identity. However, an identification card had been recovered at the scene and the card belonged to his dear Lee Minhyung. Unable to accept the news, the Void had come to the morgue himself. If anyone could identify the identity of the body, it would be him.

The Void stormed into the morgue, his henchmen following dutifully behind him. He was directed to the body that supposedly was Lee Minhyung. He stared at it, expressionless.

“Do you have the ID?” he asked, holding out a hand.

“Yes, sir.” Lee Minhyung’s ID card was placed in his hand. The henchman had stolen it from the authorities. Taking a deep breath, the Void focused on the energy residue left on the card. When Lee Minhyung escaped, there was energy residue left on the henchman who failed to retrieve him. The Void had committed the ‘energy taste’ to memory, knowing that it would be advantageous in the future.

Since Lee Minhyung had held this card the most, the Void could easily identify which energy was his. Compared to an energy user, the Void would not be able to follow energy trails or identify intricate energy signatures. However, he could detect which was Lee Minhyung’s based on amount of residue energy and the ‘taste’ of Lee Minhyung’s energy that he had previously encountered.

The Void looked back at the body. The residual energy did not feel the same as Lee Minhyung’s. It wasn’t Lee Minhyung’s. Lee Minhyung wasn’t dead. The Void let out a sigh of relief. “It’s not his.”

The Void exited the morgue and entered the car. As it pulled away from the morgue, he let out a humourless chuckle. Wherever Lee Minhyung had gone to, he must have had help in faking his death. He knew the young man could not have done this alone. The Void just needed to find out who.

And when he did, he would drain them one by one as punishment for standing between him and his beloved Lee Minhyung. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Send me your thoughts. Last chapter, someone said the Void reminded them of Kai. Who do you think the Void is?


	5. a shift in the tide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start to pick up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry that I was MIA for so long. I didn't know what direction to take this story and honestly I'm not sure if I like the chapter. I've been swamped with academic responsibilities so I could only offer a chapter with short scenes T.T

There were two things in life that could break Yuta’s resolve. One, his mother’s smile and two, sex. Since his mother had passed away a long time ago, that left sex as the only thing that could get Yuta to crack and be pushed into the right headspace where he could finally admit what was bothering him. 

Unfortunately, sex did not work this time. Johnny wanted Yuta to be on his knees. The scene that night was supposed to be a punishment for being mean to Minhyung and possibly an approach to finding out what was wrong with Yuta. Haechan opted to stay out of this session because he wanted to keep Minhyung company and make sure that the other boy did not overhear their activities. 

Before the scene started, Jungwoo had shot Yuta a worried look as he knew what was bothering the elder to a certain extent. However, Yuta wasn’t ready to admit anything which was why he stayed silent and took his punishment like a champ. This alarmed the other members of the relationship because they had never seen Yuta like this. 

To avoid making the situation worse, Jungwoo suggested that they let Yuta have a few days to sort his thoughts before asking again. Judging from how Taeyong had let out a tired sigh, Jungwoo knew that he must have seen something in his eyes that was enough to convince the other man to temporarily drop the matter. 

Yuta had sent him a grateful look, but Jungwoo simply told him to figure his shit out quickly. He just hoped Yuta listened to him. 

~.~

Minhyung quickly learned that Haechan was the troublemaker in the house. He was very mischievous and had everyone wrapped around his finger, He knew which buttons to push with each house member that would have them succumbing to his whims. It didn’t help that he would randomly be flirtatious or overly cute either.

In short, Haechan made Minhyung flustered. Despite all of that, Haechan took him under his wing. After they showed each other their powers, Minhyung felt like they had gotten closer. He had never had a friend to confide in before, especially about his powers. Haechan was so earnest with his fascination about Minhyung that he didn’t feel uncomfortable in his skin. 

It certainly helped that they were almost the same age. For the past week, it was as if Haechan and Minhyung were attached to the hip. The sun-energy user introduced Minhyung to his daily routine, which included sitting on the ledge in the living room before the crack of dawn to absorb the early rays of the day. 

The younger man also assisted Minhyung with his training. Having someone else who was an energy user helped Minhyung understand and unlock more of his potential. With Haechan’s help, he was learning how to be more connected to the energy reserve he had inside of him. Sometimes, Taeyong would join them too, and his feedback was just as valuable. 

Minhyung was still shy when interacting with the other members of the safehouse (excluding Yuta because Yuta seemed to avoid him at all costs). He may have been here for a little more than over a week, but Doyoung seemed intent on mother-henning him a little too much. The hydrokinetic still would not allow him to do any chores, despite Minhyung reassuring him many times that he had rested enough. Oftentimes, he would end up helping Haechan with his share of the chores because the younger seemed very lost when doing them.

Taeil had this habit of being very silent and unnoticeable to the point where Minhyung sometimes did not notice when he was in the same room (and it resulted in multiple scares). However, Haechan seemed to enjoy bothering Taeil, especially when the elder was practicing his magic. Therefore, by default, Minhyung spent a lot of time in Taeil’s presence and found out that he also had a humorous side underneath all the wisdom and maturity. 

Johnny was someone that Minhyung had not interacted with a lot. Haechan told him that Johnny worked in the music industry under a fake alias, which was why he seemed busy most of the time. It didn’t help that Johnny’s height and impressive physique made him look quite intimidating, causing Minhyung to hesitate about approaching him.

Jungwoo was very puppy-like. He was cheerful and had no problem in starting conversations with Minhyung whenever they ended up in each other’s presence. Minhyung noticed that he had a passion for food, but lacked the skill for cooking said food. It didn’t deter him from trying to cook, which was a quality Minhyung found admirable. 

Jaehyun seemed like an aloof, calm persona. However, Minhyung soon found out that he was not as calm and collected as he seemed. At some point, Haechan told him that Jaehyun was very rich and his family was very influential. That image rang true whenever Minhyung saw Jaehyun wearing a suit and looking very dapper to attend his mandatory family dinner or work meeting. Outside of the suit and in this household, it seemed that Jaehyun was very clumsy. Let’s just say that there was a reason why Jaehyun was almost always accompanied by Taeyong or Doyoung. 

Being surrounded by other people who were quite domestic and in tune with each other made Minhyung almost feel normal and forget the threat that had caused him to be there in the first place. If it weren’t for Jaehyun handing him a new ID over breakfast, he might have been lulled into a sense of security for the first time in his life. 

“Your name is now Mark Lee,” Jaehyun said, brandishing a card with Minhyung’s new alias. Minhyung took the card and slowly came to terms with the fact that his real identity had been deemed as dead. 

“You couldn’t get rid of the ‘Lee’?” Doyoung asked, sipping on his coffee. 

Jaehyun shrugged,” There’s tons of ‘Mark Lee’s in the system so I don’t think it’s an issue.”

“Mark,” Johnny tested it out on his tongue a few times before nodding in approval. He flashed a smile at Minhyung. “I like it.”

Minhyung or Mark flushed red at the comment. Haechan suddenly had a mischievous grin on his face. “To make it official, I think Minhyung should change his hair colour,” he suggested gleefully. “A total transition from Lee Minhyung to Mark Lee.”

That sent everyone into chaos as they each discussed the merits and process for changing his hair. Minhyung was quite apprehensive to the idea, but when he thought about it, it was a logical next step. Changing hair colours would make him more unrecognizable as long as it wasn’t anything crazy-looking. 

“I think lavender would look nice on Mark,” Yuta’s voice cut through all of the commotion and rendered everyone silent. There were a few shared glances around the table as no one was expecting Yuta to contribute any input. Him joining them for breakfast post-Minhyung’s arrival had been a recent development and even then, he would eat quickly so that he could leave the table. 

Yuta rolled his eyes when he noticed how surprised everyone was. “What?” he scoffed. “I’m just trying to help and be nice like you all wanted. That’s not a crime, is it?” He pushed his chair away from the table, stood up and left the room. Jungwoo excused himself from the table too, chasing after Yuta. 

Minhyung felt really bad because his presence must have put a strain on Yuta’s relationship with the others. Haechan had told him that they were all in a polyamorous relationship and no secrets were kept between them, but Yuta had been tight-lipped about why he was so antsy about Minhyung that he was starting to worry the others. 

“I think we still have the purple dye from when the last time we dyed Haechan’s hari,” Taeil casually spoke, breaking the tension. It did the trick by sending Taeyong and Doyoung into a tandem of making plans about when to dye Minhyung’s hair. 

~.~

Mark ended up with dyed hair sooner than he thought. Taeyong was so excited to change his hair colour that he decided after lunch was the perfect time for Minhyung to turn into Mark Lee. With Johnny and Doyoung’s help, Mark’s old brown hair was transformed into a nice lavender colour. They even styled his hair away from his forehead, making him look less babyish and more mature. 

Haechan had wolf-whistled when he saw the newly transformed Mark, making the latter’s face turn a bright red. Jungwoo had booped his nose and called him cute while Taeil seemed satisfied for unknown reasons. Taeyong, Johnny and Doyoung patted themselves on the back for a job well done. 

“We’ll go shopping sometime soon to get you your own wardrobe,” Taeyong told him as he tidied up their makeshift salon in the bathroom. "I'm sure you'd want to wear clothes that fit you properly." 

Mark looked down at his current attire. He was in a hoodie that was a few sizes too big and a pair of sweatpants that were too long. "That would be great," he agreed gratefully. He quickly added, "only if it's not too much trouble."

Doyoung scoffed, "Nothing is too much trouble. We're all family here. We look out for one another. Getting you a proper fitting wardrobe of clothes is nothing, especially since Jaehyun seems to have a credit card with no limit."

Mark bit his lip, unsure of how to respond. Luckily, Jaehyun changed the subject.

“Yuta was right. You do look great in lavender,” Jaehyun complimented him. The man had been leaning against the bathroom door for the duration of the whole event. Mark smiled politely, feeling slightly bashful at the praise. 

“Where is he anyway?” Johnny asked. 

“In the garage, like always,” Jaehyun replied, crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s his man cave at this point. We can only wait for him to emerge.” 

Once everything was tidied up, everyone started shuffling out of the cramped bathroom and going about their day. Mark was the last one left and he took a few moments to stare at himself in the mirror. 

Mark had to admit, he looked decent with lavender hair. It was more of a muted purple, nothing too bright that would attract attention to him. When styled away from his forehead, his bangs seemed wispier and his hair looked soft. He ought to thank Yuta for his input earlier that day. Now that he knew where the elder was, he supposed he could pop in a bit and express his gratitude. 

~.~

Spending a lot of time in the man cave quickly left Yuta with a short to-do list. He ended up finishing the repairs on Johnny's motorcycle much quicker than anticipated. He didn't have other things to repair for the time being so he mostly spent the time in the garage tinkering with useless stuff or exercising. 

Yuta didn't quite trust himself to spend a lot of his time in the other areas of the house, especially in shared spaces like the bathroom, kitchen and living room. Since Minhyung had stayed for over a week, Yuta was starting to sense his presence in every room. 

It wasn't his presence per say, more like his essence of being. Yuta wasn't sure what to call it, but it was like the younger left a trail of something and it was concentrated in the rooms he frequented the most. He wasn't sure if anyone else could detect it, but Yuta could and it felt suffocating at times. The feeling of going out of control was getting stronger. 

However, he knew that he needed to start getting used to it. He couldn't avoid everyone for all of eternity. He just had to suck it up and power through it. The first few times joining everyone for breakfast resulted in Yuta having to scarf down his meal because he could feel his resolve breaking the more he was in the same room as Minhyung. 

Yuta had had short conversations with Jungwoo about his condition. It was mostly because the latter pestered him about it and acted as a messenger between him and the others. The reason why Johnny, Taeyong and Doyoung weren't interrogating him was probably because Jungwoo made excuses for him. 

Yuta sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He should probably come clean soon. They should understand him, right? They were his lovers. He knew that Taeyong, Doyoung and Haechan had developed a soft spot for Minhyung so he was sure that they'd all try to find a compromise between the need to ensure Minhyung's safety and Yuta's issues with being in Minhyung's vicinity. 

The sound of the garage door opening startled Yuta. He knew his boyfriends wouldn't bother him in the garage and they hadn't checked up on him all this while. That left only one person. 

"Hi," came a timid voice from behind him. Yuta turned around quickly and was shocked. 

Minhyung or Mark looked different. They had taken his advice and dyed Mark's hair into a soft purple colour. If Yuta wasn't so surprised, he would have patted himself on the back for his good taste. Unfortunately, the elder was trying to gather his thoughts and rein himself in. 

Mark looked good. Great, even. Him just standing there in an oversized hoodie that was probably an old one of Johnny's and a shy look on his face made Yuta overwhelmed with want. Want for what, he wasn't sure. 

"They--um, dyed my hair," Mark said, pulling at some of the strands with his fingers as if the transformation wasn't obvious to Yuta. "They think it looks good. I-I think so to which is why I wanted to say thank you. So, um, thank you."

Yuta was silent, his eyes roaming all over Mark and still taking in his appearance. He could tell that his lack of response was starting to make the younger nervous as Mark started to ramble. 

"I know we didn't get off on a good foot, but I really don't want to cause any trouble between you and the others. I hope we can start fresh and that you'll tolerate me," Mark was saying a lot. However, Yuta couldn't focus on his words. He felt like he was in a daze. 

There was something pulling him to Mark and before he knew it, Yuta was already in front of the younger. He stared into Mark's wide eyes. Despite the effort to make him seem older, Mark still had the same innocent look in his eyes. Jungwoo was right, Yuta wanted to fucking ruin him. 

Nothing could explain why Yuta put his hands on Mark's waist. And there was no explanation for the rush of energy he felt when skin to skin contact was established due to Mark grabbing onto his hands out of surprise. All Yuta knew was that he wanted more of that energy rush. 

~.~

"Where's Mark?" Haechan asked as he skipped into the living room. He was in high spirits because he thought of a new exercise he wanted to try out with the elder as a form of training. "He's not in his room."

Casually, Taeil looked up from the book he was reading. "I haven't seen him since we left the bathroom."

"He was the last one to leave, wasn't he?" Taeyong asked from his spot on the couch. Next to him, Doyoung nodded in confirmation. 

"Last I checked, the bathrooms were empty," Johnny added, frowning as he tried to remember where he last saw Mark. 

"I hope he didn't leave the house," Jungwoo spoke, sounding worried. Maybe Mark had been spooked by the revelation that he had a new identity and a different hair colour so he fled. 

"He doesn't seem like the type to take off without a warning. He's too polite for that," Haechan replied, feeling very sure in his instincts. Time spent with Mark showed Haechan that the elder was too kind and full of manners for his own good. "If he wanted to leave, he would have thanked us or something."

"With that logic, he would probably be thanking Yuta for suggesting the new hair colour, but that's a reach considering how Yuta's cooped up in his man cave," Jaehyun interjected, amusement in his voice. 

Taeyong and Doyoung shared a look. "You don't think-"

"It's possible."

Haechan soon came to the same realisation. "Mark's in the garage with Yuta!" He started to have a bad feeling about it. There was one rule that he forgot to mention to the elder and that was to never disturb Yuta when the latter was in the garage. 

"You don't think Yuta's gonna do anything bad, do you?" Jungwoo asked, eyebrows furrowed. 

"I don't know," Taeyong replied, a tense look on his face. "I don't know what's going on with Yuta these days."

"I think we should give Yuta the benefit of the doubt," Taeil proposed. "He's still the same Yuta we know and love. He's just going through a rough patch. He wouldn't do anything to Minhyung."

Jungwoo nodded frantically, "Yeah, I agree."

"Let's just check up on them to be sure," Johnny suggested to appease everyone. They all agreed and left the living room, making their way to the garage. 

~.~

The longer Minhyung remained missing without a trace, the more the Void started getting anxious. Running low on energy was starting to make him more volatile and unpredictable. His henchmen knew that they needed to find Minhyung fast, otherwise they would all be in trouble. 

This was why they contacted the Tracker. This individual had the ability to track down anyone as long as there was an item belonging to the targeted person. It was unknown how the Tracker did his job, but the most popular theory was that he tracked people by scent like a dog. 

The Tracker was as mysterious as the Void. He was accompanied by two other people, a man and a woman. They did the talking on his behalf. After handing Minhyung's items that the henchmen retrieved from Minhyung's last safehouse, the Tracker and his team immediately left with the woman claiming that they would be in touch soon. The whole exchange had ended too abruptly, but there was nothing more to do than to put their trust in the Tracker. 

If anyone could sniff out where Minhyung was hiding, it would be him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know the most recent SuperM vlive? That part where Mark basically dived into the sofa bc he was embarrassed when his hyungs watched his kimchi jigae rap? I saw a vid and I couldn't help but stare at his ass and realize that it didn't seem like he was wearing underwear o.O ((also the sounds he was making could take on a very sexual manner damn superm mark lee really is different)) it's also the reason why I wanted to get this chapter up bc I wanted to fangirl somewhere so say thank you Mark Lee's ass

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize if it was bad. I haven't written in like 2 years at least. I also see the plot like in movies, with pictures that I sometimes don't know how to describe. Do leave feedback if you liked it and hopefully we'll see me improve as I get my groove back. Thanks for reading!


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